Process of heel seat fitting



June 2, 1942. P. I .rslNcLAlR 2,284,882

PROCESS 0F HEEL SEAT FITTING Filed March 5, 1941 Sheets-Sheet iINVENTOR.

BY Hay ,L .NM zu June 2, 1942. P, slNcLAlR 2,284,882

PROCESS OF HEEL SEAT FITTING Filed Marchv 5, 1941 g sheets-sheet 2 lPatented June v2, 1942 PROCESS OF HEEL SEAT FITTING Percy L. Sinclair,Auburn, Maine, assignor to Lumbard-Watson' Co.,` Auburn,

poration of Maine Maine, a cor- Application March 5, 19411, Serial No.381,775

1l) Claims. The present invention consistsr in a novel process offitting the heel seats of rubber soled shoes,

in which term I include shoes having soles of any resilient materialmore exible than leather.

In preparingshoes for the reception of wood `L; heels it is customary totrim the margin of the heel seat portion of the sole by removing a U-shaped chip leaving the sole shaped to lit within the concave attachingface of the heel and to form at opposite sides of the reduced heel seatportion of vthe s'ole a pair of laterally extending shoulders againstwhich the breast of the heel abuts. The reduced or trimmed heel seatportion of the sole is vpreferably shaped l'to engage substantially. theentire attaching face of thei heel in order` to provide a solidfoundation of considerable'area for supporting vthe heel, and

should be reduced sufficiently to permit the rim of the attaching faceof the heel snugly to engage the counter portion of the upper. Moreover,the laterally extending shoulders should be accurately positionedlengthwise of the sole in order to engage the breast of the heel of the1inished shoe. Y

The heel lseat fitting operation has been successfully carried outV inmanufacturing leather soled shoes by machines which include cooperatingmembers for deforming the heel seat portion of the shoe, in combinationwith a blade movable for splitting the heel seat lengthwise while heldunder such deforming pressure. A machine of this general type isdisclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,980,371 dated November 13, Greatdifliculty has been encountered, however, in tting the heel seats ofrubber soled shoes by any machine or by any process heretofore known.VIn fact the difficulty has been so great that; manufacturers have beendriven to use leather heels with rubber soled shoes, although on accountof theirlighter weight and better style characteristics wood heels areto be preferred. When a rubber soled shoe is present- Y ed to a machineof the type above mentioned a very imperfect and inaccurate splittingoperation results and in some instances the splitting blade has beendamaged by improper setting of theV sole deforming members in anendeavor to hold the heel seat properly for the heel seat fittingoperation. y

The present invention is based upon my discovery that by stiffening therear end of the rubber sole by means of van attached fibrous tuck ofsomeV such material as pasteboard, the heelseat end of the `sole may becontrolled accurately and dependably and a perfect tting operationachieved. In one aspect therefore Vthe present invention consists in aprocess of tting heel seats of rubber soled shoes which is characterizedby the step of securinga brous tuck to one face of the heel seat portionof the rubber sole, concaving the heel seat and itsv attached tuck bysurface pressure, and lengthwise splitting the heel heat while soconcaved and pressed. While the reasons for the strikingbeneficialresults of this procedureare not entirely plain, it appears that a moreaccurate deforming of the heel seat is possible when it is stiiened bybrous reinforcement than when not so treated, that its spreading andconsequent thinning is restricted and that a more favorable positioningof the de- Aforming instrumentalities is permitted. For example, inattempting to deform a rubber soled shoe for heel seat tting in themachine of Patent No.rl,980,371, the outer presser member must bedepressed practically into the plane of the blade movement. This ofcourse is an impossible adjustment, but when the deforming pressermember is supplemented by'a fibrous tuck its effective range isincreased and no damage is done plate,

to the splitting knife even if it shaves away a portion of the tuck inthe tting operation.

These and other features of my invention rwill be best understood andappreciated from the following detailed description of one manner inwhich it may be put into practice as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view illustrating so much of the machineof Patent No. 1,980,371 as is necessary to understand its operation whenused in carrying out the process of my invention,

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective ofthe matrix Fig. 3 is a fragmentaryView in perspective of a rubber soled shoe having a tuckv attachedv toits heel seat preparatory to the heel seat fitting operation,

Figsfi and 5 are views in perspective of the chip removed in the ttingoperation, the chip in Fig. 5 being inverted, and

Fig. 6 ,is a fragmentary view in perspective of the shoe at theconclusion of the heel seat fitting operation. Y l

In the accompanyingfdrawings I have illustrated the heel seat fittingoperation as carried out upon an oxford shoe having an upper I0 and arubber sole Il provided with a mock welt l2. The sole is attached to theshoebottom by cement and, as herein shown, a leather welt strip isattached to the margin of the sole iby a line of stitching. l'I'he soleherein Vshown for purposes of illustration is lof a rubber compositionknown to the trade as Napline and it will be understood that this is butone example of the type of sole that may be successfully fitted by thepractice of my invention.

In carrying out the process of my invention a fibrous tuck is preparedcorresponding in contour to the contour of the heel seat to be fittedand extending forwardly to a point in advance of the breast line. Such atuck I3 may be died out from cardboard or other stiff fibrous material.One economical source of such tucks is the waste cardboard from'shoecartons. The tuck I3 is secured by a coating or spot of paste, 'orfcement to the heel seat face of the sole as suggested in Fig. 3. Theheel seat may then be temporarily deformed by cooperating pressuremembers such as a matrix plate having a U- shaped opening and acorrespondingly shaped plunger and in this operation the heel seat ofthe sole and the tuck I3 act as a composite sheet- While so pressed anddeformed a pair of transverse breast cuts I4 and I5 are made in oppositesides of the heel seat as suggested in Fig. 4 and a splitting knife isvadvanced from the rear end of the heel seat until it meets the breastcuts. In this operation it trims a U-shaped chip I1 from the margin ofthe heel seat. This chip is terminated by the breast cuts and includesthe rear ends I2 of the welt strip which normally extend behind thebreast line of the shoe. The U- shaped chip I1 is removed from the solewith the attached tuck I3 leaving the heel seat of the sole II`accurately shaped and fitted for the reception of the wood heel as shownin Fig. 6.

To complete the disclosure of the processof my invention I will nowproceed to explain how it may be carried out with the assistance of sucha machine as thatdescribed in U, S. Patent No. 1,980,371.

This machine as illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a matrix or crease plate26 having a U-shaped opening and being constructed and arranged tosupport the marginal heel seat portion of the sole II. Cooperating withthe matrix plate 2l] is a U-shaped presser member 2I mounted forvertical movement to clamp the margins .of the heel seat portion and thesole against the plate 2U, a pair of knives 33 which move past theforward or breast edges of the matrix plate 20 to form the heel breastreceiving shoulders upon the sole, a bulger 25 mounted for verticalmovement to force the central part .of the heel seat and the solethrough the opening of the matrix plate and a fiat blade 35 mounted forhorizontal movement along the bottom of the matrix plate to trim themargin of the heel seat portion and form the tongue or reduced areaofthe fitted sole.

In Fig. 1 the frame of the machine is substantially omitted since thisis not necessary to an understanding of the functions of its operatinginstrumentalities. However, the frame provides a rigid support shaped tokreceive interchangeably one of a plurality of matrix plates 2D providedwith U-shaped openings of various sizes and shapes according to the sizeof the heel seat desired. The inner portion of the plate around itsU-shaped opening is cut away to provide a bevelled face extending fromone end of the opening to the other and terminating in a feather edgewhich lies in a plane and defines the size and shape of the reduced heelseat portionv of the sole.

The sole of the shoe is positioned lengthwise upon the matrix plate 20by a back gauge 39 slidably mounted in the machine frame and normallyurged by a compression spring forwardly of the machine with respect toan adjustable stop plate 4I, the lengthwise position of which iscontrolled by a heel gauge not herein shown. A portion of the cam 40which advances the stop plate in this controlled manner is shown in Fig.1 butJ the rest of the mechanism is omitted.

The splitting knife 35, as already stated, is flat and travels againstthe lower flat face of the matrix plate 20. The contour of its cuttingedge corresponds in shape to the contour of the shoulder forming knives33. The knife 35 is adjustably mounted in a carrier 42 by a clampingscrew and backed by an adjusting screw 31 which is threaded into anabutment block 36 having a dependant portion arranged to interlock withthe shank of the knife 35. The clamping screw may be loosened to permitthis adjustment and tightened to clamp the knife to the carrier 42.

It is desirable to clamp the sole against the bevelled face of thematrix plate in order that the sole may be tensioned around the bottomof the bulger 25 as the bulger forces the central part of the heel seatportion of the sole through the opening below the lower face of theplate 20. Accordingly the U-shaped pressure member 2| is pivotallymounted upon a carrier plate 22 secured to the lower end of a verticalsleeve 23. The presser member and its plate 22 are detachable andinterchangeable with plates of different shape in accordance with theshape of the matrix in use. Concentrically mounted within the sleeve 23is a rod 26 having a flange ai; its lower end against which isdetachably held the bulger 25 which as already indicated is shaped ltopass through the opening of the matrix plate 20. The rod 26 and theupper end of the sleeve 23 are surrounded by a cylindrical sleeve 29enclosing a compression spring 3D. The upper end of the sleeve 29 isengaged by check nuts threaded upon the rod 26. At its upper end the rod26 carries a head 28 and this is connected through a link to theoperating lever 21 of the machine.

The shoulder forming cutters 33 are spaced to form the breast cuts I4and I5 (see Fig. 4) and are adjustably mounted by clamping screws 34 ina carrier 3| which in turn is mounted for heightwise adjustment andbacked up by adjusting screws 32 in a reciprocatory operating slide.

In carrying out the method Iof my invention with the assistance of themechanism above described the shoe is presented as suggested in Fig. 1with the margin of the tuck-reinforced rubber sole II resting upon thebevelled face of the matrix plate 20. The tuck I3 is, of course,interposed beneath the operative face of the presser 2| and of thebulger 25. The presser member 2I is lowered into pressing engagementwith the margin of the sole and this is the position of the parts asillustrated in Fig. 1. With the work in this position the shoulderforming knives are depressed to form the shoulder cuts I4 and I5, inthis operation passing through the tuck I3, and are then immediatelyelevated. `The bulger 25 is now advanced forcing the center portion ofthe sole downwardly below the plane of the lower face of the matrixplate 20 and in this operation the tuck-reinforced heel seatI portion ofthe sole is abruptly concaved and the bulger may advance so that thetuck I3 is carried into or slightly below the cutting plane asdetermined by the 2,234,882 plate 20. With the heel lower face of thematrix seat of the sole held under pressure and deformed in this mannerthe knife 35 is advanced until it meets the shoulder forming cuts I4 andI thereby forming the chip shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In the chip the tuckI3 retains permanently the impress of the deforming action to which ithasv been subjected by the cooperative movements of the bulger withrespect to the matrix plate 2U. In its movement lengthwise through theheel seat of the just beneath the lower surface of the tuck I3 or it mayshave into the material ofthe tuck without any damage to its own edge.Accordingly when thev deforming operation is effected in part throughthe medium of the tuck a more pronounced and accurate deformation ispossible than is the case when the deforming medium must be carefullymaintained above the path of the splitting knife.y

In Fig. 5 the inner face of the tuck I3 in the chip is represented ashaving been cleared by the splitting knife but in many instances theexposed face of the tuck Within the U-shaped chip I'I will show that ascarf has been removed therefrom in the splitting operation.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail the bestmanner now known to me of putting it into practice I claim vas new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. The process of fitting heel seats of rubber sole shoes, whichconsists in deforming by surface pressure the heel seat portion of arubber sole, employing therefor instrumentalities which include a layerof cardboard in direct contact with the outer face of the sole, and thenlengthwise splitting thevheel seat while so pressed and deformed. Y

2. The process of fitting heel seats of rubber sole shoes, which ischaracterized by the step of securing a cardboard tuck to the outer faceof the heel seat, concaving the heel seat and its attached tuck bysurface pressure, and lengthwise splitting the heel seat While soconcaved and pressed. 3. The process of Iitting heel seats of rubbersole shoes, which is characterized by securing to the outer face of therubber sole a iibrous tuck which extends forward of the breast line,deforming the heel seat and tuck by surface pressure, breast-cuttingthrough the tuck and sole at opposite edges thereof, and lengthwisesplitting the deformed sole therebyremoving a. U- shaped chip covered bythe tuck.

4. The process of fitting heel seats of rubber sole shoes, characterizedby deforming the heel seat of the sole by instrumentalities whichinclude sole the` knife 35 may pass .a fibrous contact member, andlengthwise splitting the heel seat while so deformed, employing in-thatstep a blade movable in a path practically contacting with the brouscontact member.

5. The process of fitting heel seats of rubber sole shoes, characterizedby covering the heel seat with a fibrous tuck, concaving the combinedtuck and sole in the heel seat, and while so deformed, lengthwisesplitting the heel seat by a blade moving so that it shaves the tuck.

6. The process of iitting heel seats of rubber sole shoes, characterizedby covering the heel seat with a fibrous tuck, and then deforming andlengthwise splitting the heel seat in such manner as to remove aU-shaped chip covered by the tuck or -a portion thereof.

7. The process of fitting heel seats of rubber sole shoes, characterizedby covering the heel seat with a fibrous tuck, depressing the centralarea ofthe tuck with the sole beneath it, and

then trimming away the marginal portion of the Y `heel seat withoutdisturbing the contact of the tuck and the end of the sole.

8. The process of tting heel seat of Ia rubber sole shoe, having a mockwelt, which is characterized by cementing to the heel seat of a rubbersole a iibrous tuck which extends forward of the breast line and abovethe rear ends of the mock welt, then ooncaving the heel seat end of thesole by pressure exerted on one side through the medium of the tuck, andWhile so pressed longitudinally splitting the heel seat by a iat bladetraveling in close proximity to the tuck, and thereby removing the tuckwith a U- shaped chip beneath it together with the severed ends of thewelt. f

9. The process of iitting heel seats of rubber sole shoes, which ischaracterized by stiifening the rear end cfa rubber sole by means of anattached fibrous tuck, and then cutting olf a `U-shaped stiiened chipfrom the thus-stiifened end of the sole.

10. The process of fitting heel seats of rubber sole shoes, which ischaracterized by stiffening the rear end of a rubber sole by means of anattached fibrous tuck coinciding in contour substantially with thecontour of the heel seat, clamping the marginal portion of the heel seatin part through the medium of the tuck, bulging the center portion ofthe heel seat with respect to its clamped marginal portion also in partthrough the medium of the tuck, and then cutting a U-shaped chip fromthe rubber sole while thus clamped and bulged.

PERCY L. SINCLAIR.

